“All right,” I say.
Alistair does some research about Little Ingleby online before we set off on the motorway. It all happens so fast. I barely know what to say on the journey, leaving Alistair to fill the silence.
“Do you want to eat when we get there?” he asks. “I looked up the local pubs and have a good idea where we could go. But it really depends on whether you’re hungry. We could?—”
I place a hand on his arm. “We’ll figure it out.”
He smiles. “Sorry, I’m being a bit much, aren’t I?”
I pause a moment before responding. “You maybe seem a little over-enthusiastic about all this. It might seem like an exciting mystery for you to solve, but it’s my life. This is all very real to me.”
“Hey, I know that,” he says.
He turns the radio up and keeps his eyes fixed on the road ahead. I immediately regret what I said, even though I still believe there’s truth to my words, no matter how cutting they may have sounded.
“I appreciate this though. You know that, don’t you?” I ask. “You’ve taken time off work to help me. My daughter is happy in a new relationship and I couldn’t do this alone. I’d hate to drag her out of her romantic little bubble.”
“You know I’m happy to help,” he says, and with a small smile, things between us seem more settled.
My palms are damp by the time we reach Little Ingleby. I pull my hair away from the back of my neck and lower the window, sensing a hot flash on the way.
The village is exactly how I pictured it. Moss-covered drystone walls, ivy-clad cottages and rose gardens. The satnav tells Alistair where to park and I note that we made it all the way here without arguing about directions. That’s a welcome change from my car trips with Scott. Nathan and Penny in the back of the car punching each other on the arms. But I have the same squirming sense of unease at the pit of my stomach.
Alistair parks in the centre of the village next to a newsagent. “What do you want to do first?”
“I think we need to figure out where Claire lived and speak to her neighbours,” I say. “The only thing is, if I talk to people who know Claire?—”
“They’re going to think youareClaire.”
I nod. “So, I’m not sure how we’re going to do this. What I need is for someone local to understand what I’m trying to do and help me. Maybe if we hang out at the pub. Or if I send you out on your own to ask questions.”
“Hey, I’m up for that.” He smirks. “I’ve always wanted to be a detective.”
His excitement is not contagious and I suddenly wonder why he’s here. Why he’s taken time off to help me with this. Is it because he has feelings for me? Because he’s living out a fantasy about being a detective? Or because he has an ulterior motive? I’m throwing myself headfirst into this investigation to find my sister. But I have no idea what kind of danger may be lurking around the corner, and now whether I can trust the man at my side.
CHAPTER 29
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Showered now, he tosses his phone onto the bed and pulls out an outfit for the day, catching a glimpse of his phone wallpaper, with the little girl smiling at the camera.
A long time ago, the gravedigger understood that he needed to fit in. He needed a cover for his darker side. That’s where the family-man act comes in.
He dresses, thinking about his failure. He let that bitch get away. When he pictures her face – that red hair, those large blue eyes – his jaw tightens, and he imagines wrapping his fingers around her neck. She got away this time, but he will finish this soon. He will end this battle that has been raging between them for over thirty years.
He knew from the first moment he saw his new stepmother that he hated her. Even at five years old he knew that.
But he never expected to be burying her on the moors. That part took him by surprise.
She started things sweetly enough. She wanted him to like her because she wanted to make a good impression on his father. Just like any decent gold digger would.
And so the coddling began. But he hadn’t stood for it.
He remembers how she stared at him. He always hated her large blue eyes, so full of fake pity.
“Why are you with my daddy?” he asked.
She smiled sweetly at him but he knew it was all fake.
